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Slowtwitch Forums: Triathlon Forum:
Tall Athletes

AMacca

Nov 1, 09 0:48

Post #1 of 25 (809 views)

Tall Athletes	Can't Post

Hey does anyone know the names of any tall triathletes? I am currently aware of Torbjorn Sindballe 6'4 and Matty Reed who is also 6'4. Are there any disadvantages of being a taller athlete?

archistu

Nov 1, 09 3:43

Post #2 of 25 (765 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Magnus Backstedt (retired pro cyclist) was about the same. The fundamental disadvantage is weight. No matter how lean you are at that height, you're going to weigh more than most of your competitors. Probably doesn't matter much on the swim, will matter to varying degrees on the bike depending on how hilly the course is and how well fitted to the bike you are, but will ALWAYS hurt you on the run.

jackmott

Nov 1, 09 4:44

Post #3 of 25 (722 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jordan Rapp, 6'3", he won an ironman this year.

advantage - swim
bike - doesn't matter
run - disadvantage if its a long one, or a hot day

In Reply To:

Hey does anyone know the names of any tall triathletes? I am currently aware of Torbjorn Sindballe 6'4 and Matty Reed who is also 6'4. Are there any disadvantages of being a taller athlete?

----
Sunglasses: http://www.framesdirect.com/sunglasses
Tri Gear: http://www.atctrishop.com
rear wheel disc ALWAYS http://www.wheelbuilder.com if poor front wheel whatever torodial rim wheel you want, or H3. deeper if yer faster shallower if yer slower tires - http://www.biketechreview.com has crr data, use it frames - position trumps aero trumps weight trumps paintjob trumps stiffness water bottle between your arms or not at all if its a sprint swimget some swim lessons, its cheaper than buying bike speed train more and HTFU

Rappstar

Nov 1, 09 6:53

Post #4 of 25 (676 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Hey does anyone know the names of any tall triathletes? I am currently aware of Torbjorn Sindballe 6'4 and Matty Reed who is also 6'4. Are there any disadvantages of being a taller athlete?

Greg Remaly, who doesn't race much anymore, is 6'4". He was very successful back in early 2000s. Brian Lavelle is 6'3 or 6'4". Shane Reed, Matt's twin brother, is close to 6'5". Ain Alar Juhansson is 6'4" (IIRC) and BIG (like 215lbs). Those are the ones that pop into my head. It's relatively rare that I see someone at a race taller than I am, so I usually take notice when I do.

Jancouver

Nov 1, 09 6:59

Post #5 of 25 (671 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Hey does anyone know the names of any tall triathletes? I am currently aware of Torbjorn Sindballe 6'4 and Matty Reed who is also 6'4. Are there any disadvantages of being a taller athlete?

My name is Jan and I'm 195cm.

Jan AKA Yan
==============================

"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever" - LA

==============================

TDork

Nov 1, 09 7:57

Post #6 of 25 (628 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [Rappstar] [In reply to]	Can't Post

You'd think it would be the "big" and not the tall that could make the sport a challenge. 6'4", but 170 lbs or 215 lbs - I'm the former, and I can't imagine how difficult it would be with another 45 pounds on my frame. The big guys doing this stuff are very impressive, not to mention the big guys who are fast.

rundutch22

Nov 1, 09 10:40

Post #7 of 25 (579 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Jordan Rapp, 6'3", he won an ironman this year.

advantage - swim
bike - doesn't matter
run - disadvantage if its a long one, or a hot day

In Reply To:

Tall runners have longer strides (usually), which can help like crazy. Same effort covers more ground = faster. don't think I agree with the run part of it.

djciii

Nov 1, 09 10:46

Post #8 of 25 (575 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [rundutch22] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Really. How much do you weigh? Stride length is usually offset by additional weight that has to be carried throughout the run. That is why taller athletes usually don't have as big an issue on the swim and bike

jackmott

Nov 1, 09 10:58

Post #9 of 25 (555 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [rundutch22] [In reply to]	Can't Post

its something thats been studied pretty in depth.

in a long race ( like a marathon ) the extra weight of being tall is usually a hindrance. you can offset that by being really really skinny (see Jordan rapp) but the short guys can do that too, or have more muscle at the same weight.

look foryouself at marathon results where the temps are in the 70s or higher for the heat aspect. you can pretty well predict results by weight.

theres obviouslly a pretty wide range of heights that can be competitive at long distance runningthough, but it gets harder when its hot!

In Reply To:

Tall runners have longer strides (usually), which can help like crazy. Same effort covers more ground = faster. don't think I agree with the run part of it.

jpflores

Nov 1, 09 11:08

Post #10 of 25 (532 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

A tall runner is less aero than a short runner.
__________________
JP
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stageracer

Nov 1, 09 11:36

Post #11 of 25 (503 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

MarkyV is around 6'4...Shane Reed isn't 6'5...more like 6'1 or 6'2...still tall. Also Andy Potts isn't a midget by any stretch...probably around 6'2 as well. Matty is 6'5...

I guess the compelling thing comes down to power to weight ratio; especially on the bike. Long levers are key in swim/bike...but it's it's amazing how fast some of the bigger guys go in comparison to their shorter 'greyhound' competitors.

I'm 6'5 and my race weight was right around 172...

(This post was edited by stageracer on Nov 1, 09 11:38)

Kaka

Nov 1, 09 11:49

Post #12 of 25 (488 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hunter Kemper is 6-3.
-------------------------------------------
"The hero is someone in continual opposition to the status quo. The hero is always becoming himself." Jos� Ortega y Gasset.

It's a bloggy blog world

Mountain Goat

Nov 1, 09 11:51

Post #13 of 25 (486 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [rundutch22] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Not true. Look at an elite pack of runners and the cadences (thus stride length) is all about the same, regardless of height or leg length.
Being tall is clearly a disadvantage for men in distance running. With a few rare exceptions, the big time marathon winners are in between 5'2" and 5'8". But that's not to say there aren't some very fast guys at 6'4"+. On the plus side, you've got a big advantage in the water. So all things considered, its probably a wash. Short or tall, you can be fast in triathlon if you have the engine.

triatleta

Nov 1, 09 12:10

Post #14 of 25 (466 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jan Frodeno, 6'4''
deBicis.es

Mark M

Nov 1, 09 12:10

Post #15 of 25 (466 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yep. I'm 6'2" and 190-ish. My athlinks stats were really striking to me. Not that I din't know it, but to see all those race results in one place really brought it home. My sprint tri performances are fine, but any long run (or long ditance tri)boy, do I fall off.

Horses for courses I guess. I did run a 3:01 marathon in 1989, when I was 33. Watched my wife run the same race this year, after loping along till my 15 and then catching a ride to see her finish.

jackmott

Nov 1, 09 12:14

Post #16 of 25 (456 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [Mark M] [In reply to]	Can't Post

drop 20lbs! problem solved! plus you save money on food. haha
----
Sunglasses: http://www.framesdirect.com/sunglasses
Tri Gear: http://www.atctrishop.com
rear wheel disc ALWAYS http://www.wheelbuilder.com if poor front wheel whatever torodial rim wheel you want, or H3. deeper if yer faster shallower if yer slower tires - http://www.biketechreview.com has crr data, use it frames - position trumps aero trumps weight trumps paintjob trumps stiffness water bottle between your arms or not at all if its a sprint swimget some swim lessons, its cheaper than buying bike speed train more and HTFU

Mark M

Nov 1, 09 12:20

Post #17 of 25 (452 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I hear you...but to keep injuries away my training has switched so much in the last ten years....instead of daily running, it is now daily swimming and that has beefed me up in the upper body. Lots of achilles/calf issues after my mid-40's and the pool is just easier to deal with year round.

jackmott

Nov 1, 09 12:23

Post #18 of 25 (447 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [Mark M] [In reply to]	Can't Post

come on mark
weight is decided by caloric deficit, the swimming is just deciding where it goes.

fork down, half iron trophy UP!

In Reply To:

smhuey

Nov 1, 09 12:26

Post #19 of 25 (446 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [Mark M] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

I'm actually 6'3", 21, and looking to run a marathon in January around ~3:05. I'm currently at 200, with ~10-11% body fat. What did your regiment look like then?

Mark M

Nov 1, 09 12:45

Post #20 of 25 (425 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [smhuey] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I weighed about 10 pounds less than I do now and I did alot of running back then....well alot for me. Was always over 40 miles a week for the last three months, raced 10k frequently to keep the speed up. Double digit distance run of varying lengths twice a week. I am big-thighed, but I had good turnover that day. That was the best running year of my "career", and the one I did the most running in. Go figure... :)

Mark M

Nov 1, 09 12:48

Post #21 of 25 (419 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Dang. I ran 11 1/2 this AM, did 2 hours of yard work, then swam 1000 and now I can't have this chunk of lasagna????

I will tell you if I did get back down to around 175-180 I might be awfully tough in the 55-59's!

AMacca

Nov 1, 09 14:00

Post #22 of 25 (352 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [In reply to]	Can't Post

I totally agree that tall athletes are more disadvantaged on the run due to lack of heat loss. This is a cool little analogy that i think of in regards to heat loss. If we get a cube that is 1x1x1 cm and then double all of those dimensions we will result in an x8 increase in volume for a surface area that is only twice as big. So as we increase our volume (or in this case our size) we will achieve a smaller surface area per unit of volume. This is why the bigger athletes will find it hard to get rid of the heat (or at least in my opinion).
I was also wondering, if you had two runners, both running a relatively cool temperatures one being 6'2 the other 5'8 but both had the same bmi of 21, which would be at an advantage? I saw that matty reed ran around a 30 minute 10km in south africa ITU world cup last year, which is bloody fast for a man of his size. This really is not too much further off the times that the other shorter guys run it, for example brownlee or gomez in around 29min. Could it be possible that all of the good guys are better not because they are shorter, but because they are simply more frequent? Like there are going to be a lot more people below 6ft in the general population, and therefore shouldnt we see the same trend in triathlon?

jackmott

Nov 1, 09 14:07

Post #23 of 25 (344 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [AMacca] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Amacca, if its cool enoug outside, heat isn't the limiter in performance, so the tall guys can basically relax. If it is too hot, heat is THE limiter, so its basically hopeless for the tall. See Radcliffe in the olympics. Its not nerves that stopped her, shes just too big for warm weather marathons.

But if its cool, the only downside to being tall is the beating your body takes in the longer runs.

www.sportsscientists.com has a good article(s) on heat/height and marathoners.

For triathletes though, I think the slower pace of the runs probably reduces the extent to which heat is the limiter on performance, which is why Torbjorn can manage 4th in hawaii..int the heat....with a hole in his heart!!
----
Sunglasses: http://www.framesdirect.com/sunglasses
Tri Gear: http://www.atctrishop.com
rear wheel disc ALWAYS http://www.wheelbuilder.com if poor front wheel whatever torodial rim wheel you want, or H3. deeper if yer faster shallower if yer slower tires - http://www.biketechreview.com has crr data, use it frames - position trumps aero trumps weight trumps paintjob trumps stiffness water bottle between your arms or not at all if its a sprint swimget some swim lessons, its cheaper than buying bike speed train more and HTFU

brentl

Nov 1, 09 15:05

Post #24 of 25 (306 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

For triathletes though, I think the slower pace of the runs probably reduces the extent to which heat is the limiter on performance, which is why Torbjorn can manage 4th in hawaii..int the heat....with a hole in his heart!!

are you kidding me? you think the heat in hawaii is less of a factor???? torbjorn managed 4th because he smoked the bike and ran at his limit. hard to compare but he has outrun all the big guns in a half ironman and then goes 15 min slower in the hawaii marathon. right - nothing to do with the heat. and he doesn't have a "hole in his heart." he has a bicuspid aortic valve.

_EH_

Nov 1, 09 16:36

Post #25 of 25 (251 views)

Re: Tall Athletes [brentl] [In reply to]	Can't Post

and I am pretty sure he was 3rd behind Macca and Crowie.